JD Souther may be best known as a leading light of the Southern California country-rock scene of the 1970s or, today, as the wise musical guru on ABC’s “Nashville.”

But it’s jazz music that’s singing to him today, thanks in large part to his upbringing in Amarillo.

“The music I listen to, write, play and sing is surely the result of all the music I’ve heard. My own history of listening to music is so varied. It’s opera, swing, country, pop, R&B, classical, folk, western swing, rock ’n’ roll and jazz of every stripe,” Souther said. “I love good writing, and that’s what I aim to do every time. Nothing is quite as good for an artist as a nearly impossible goal.”

Souther’s most recent album, “Midnight in Tokyo,” captures a live performance by his quartet — a deliberate artistic choice mirroring his choice for his 2008 comeback album, “If the World Was You.”

“I wanted to have the sound, that kind of sonic ambience of those late ’50s, early ’60s jazz records — Miles Davis, (John) Coltrane records,” Souther said.

“I wanted the sound to be very round and not so separated, not so crisp and mechanical,” he said. “It was fun ... one of the most satisfying studio experiences of my life, so I just kept doing it.”

Souther rediscovered his love of jazz around the time he moved to Nashville full time eight years ago during a nearly 25-year hiatus from the music business.

“I was sort of lonesome for listening to jazz because I had really grown up playing jazz, and listening to stuff my dad liked,” Souther said. “I just missed it, so I started going out to jazz clubs here and meeting players.

“It was sort of wonderful that this city, known worldwide for country music, has an extraordinary depth in classical musicians.”

Souther’s own musical background also shows extraordinary depth.

Souther was born in Detroit, where his father was working as a big band singer. But he grew up in Amarillo, played here in a jazz trio and briefly studied music at Amarillo College.

“I think my mother didn’t want to be the wife of someone who went on the road all the time,” he said. “Amarillo ... was the compromise city between Dallas, which is where Dad wanted to live, and Wellington, where my grandparents lived.”

He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s to find his way in the music industry.

“I never really had a Plan B, besides driving race cars. There was nothing else I really considered,” Souther said. “I’m pretty sure I made the right choice.”

There, he became fast friends with Glenn Frey and started dating Linda Ronstadt, putting him at the epicenter of the SoCal country-rock scene. Frey and drummer Don Henley were hired to play in Ronstadt’s backup band, performing with Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner — eventually forming the core of The Eagles.

Though Souther had been performing, including in a short-lived folk duo with Frey called Longbranch Pennywhistle, he found perhaps his greatest success as a songwriter. He co-wrote some of The Eagles’ biggest smashes, including “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town” and “Heartache Tonight,” as well as collaborating with Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor and others.

“The question always seems to hover around the notion that we might have known what we were doing,” Souther said. “Did we know it was going to be that important?

“By the late ’70s, we were certainly aware of the fact that we had done something that was a little different and that I hoped would stand the test of time, but when you’re in your early 20s ... trying to make a living and get noticed ... you don’t have much sense of that place in history.

“You’re just trying to get from Song A to Song B.”

His solo career stretched into the ’80s with his solo album “Home by Dawn,” but by that time, he wasn’t too keen on where the industry was heading.

“I wasn’t a huge fan of the MTV era of music,” he said. “I was burned out. I didn’t want to think about making an album and touring and competing for space on MTV.

“I had a lot of things I wanted to do. I wanted to travel more, to spend more time in Hawaii. I wanted to ski ... and I wanted to be able to build a house — really, my dream house — in the Hollywood hills.”

After about a decade, Souther moved for a while to Ireland before settling on a farm near Nashville.

But it was a trip to New York several months ago that helped him land his role on the ABC hit drama. While at dinner with several friends, including series creator Callie Khouri (“Thelma and Louise”) and her husband, music producer T Bone Burnett (“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”), Khouri mentioned that she was working on a series set in Music City.

“I said I’d love to see it when she was finished ... then went in and read for it,” Souther said. “It’s a really fun job to be in on. It’s a really nice set. The people are all nice and talented. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”